Art and Spirituality: From Cave Paintings to Picasso

The relationship between art and spirituality is very rich and complex. The arts always have been part of religion, and they are a natural vehicle for connecting with the transcendent. Sacred pictures, symbols, dances, chants, and hymns have been used in rituals and religious ceremonies since prehistory. Even in modern art this connection, if less obvious and often forgotten in textbooks, is nevertheless central. In this course, we will explore the arts as a link to spiritual paths from a historical perspective. Then, we will focus on modern art and examine how most of the giants of early and mid-20th-century painting shared common spiritual roots. We will see how artists approach their work as a form of meditation. We will attach importance to Kandinsky’s works and his conception of art and spirituality, and we will explore various other modern masterpieces such as Matisse’s work in la Chapelle du Rosaire, Braque’s Atelier
series, and Picasso’s Crucifixion
and Mother and Child.